Page 24 of Wrecked By You
“Thank you so much, Stan. I feel awful.”
“Shit happens, babe. Life throws us curveballs, and all we can do is duck and hope we don’t get smashed in the face. It’s no biggie.”
That was a lie. Coping with an unplanned staff absence was a huge issue in a place as popular as Level Nine. And on a Friday night, too. But what could I do?
“I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what’s happening. If I can be there, I will be.”
“You take care.”
Stan cut the call before I could thank him. I envisaged him putting the phone down, then cursing me to hell and back. It was what I’d have been tempted to do had the situation been reversed.
At least it wasn’t Johannes who’d answered the phone. Something told me his response would have been a lot worse than Stan’s. God only knew what he’d say when he arrived for work tonight to find out I wasn’t there.
Well, too bad. My baby needed me.
Chloe shivered as I set my phone on her nightstand. I lay beside her and pulled her to my side, humming a lullaby. Eventually, her breathing evened out and sleep pulled her under.
I lay staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, praying that when tomorrow came, my baby would be better and I would still have a job.
And if neither of those things happened… I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
Chapter10
Johannes
And there we have it.
Yet another disappointment.
I parkedmy car in my reserved space at Level Nine at five minutes before one. The parking lot teemed with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins, and despite the club closing in an hour’s time, the line to gain entry snaked around the side of the building. The clear evidence of success should please me, but after an unexpected trip to San Francisco to fire the manager for skimming, I was too tired and too pissed off to celebrate.
And now I had to find another fucking manager who met my exacting standards. In record time.
Not exactly an easy task to accomplish.
My elder brother, Asher, would have a whole host of potential candidates lined up in thirty seconds flat. All I’d have to do was ask him for help.
Problem was, I saw that as failure, even if he wouldn’t.
This wasmybusiness,myissue to solve.
I exited the vehicle and made my way to the staff entrance. As I stepped inside, a ball of anticipation weighed heavily in my stomach. It pained me to admit it, but I was looking forward to seeing Ella. I owed her an apology for last night. She wasn’t to know how touchy I was about my injury, and hiding the ugly scar on my neck was the reason my closet consisted of rows upon rows of turtleneck sweaters and high-necked shirts, all in my favorite color: black.
It matched my heart.
Maybe my soul, too.
Whatever, she hadn’t deserved my vitriol, nor the blunt threat to fire her, either.
But that wasn’t the only reason for the fluttering in my abdomen or the way the hairs on my arms stood up as I thought of how much I wanted to see her.
It wasn’t an easy thing for me to acknowledge, but fuck, I found her attractive. Maybe that was why I also found it so easy to castigate her. On some level, I didn’t want to want her.
Not that it mattered.
No fucking the staff.
Quality employees were hard to find and even harder to retain. Level Nine had an exceptional reputation, but only fools rested on their laurels. This was Los Angeles, the city where everything you’d worked for could come crashing down around your ears in a microsecond.